In humans, as well as all vertebrate animals, turning a fertilized egg into an embryo with a little beating heart requires that stem cells differentiate, specialize, and generate specific tissues, such as bones, blood vessels and a nervous system. This process is kickstarted and regulated by retinal. Animals can’t produce their own retinal, though, they must ingest it from plants, or from animals that eat plants.
Plant roots and animal embryos rely on the same chemical for successful development.
What do frog eggs have in common with anti-aging creams? Their success depends on a group of chemical compounds called retinoids, which are capable of generating and re-generating tissues.
A new study in plants shows that retinoids’ tissue-generating capacities are also responsible for the appropriate development of roots.
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